For many here in Guyana, he’s considered one of the best all-round players of his generation and in retrospect is sometimes unmatched on the basketball court.

His exceptional educational back ground being a former top student at the Mackenzie High School in Linden, and now reading for a degree in Geological Engineering at the University of Guyana, allows him to think one step ahead of his competitors in games.

But for 22 year-old Akeem Kanhai, his dreams of playing at the highest level in the game still remains intact as the Ravens point Guard reveals his desire to be the best in Guyana at his craft.

Growing up in Linden, sports has always been an integral part in Kanhai’s life and after trying his hands at table tennis and his feet at football, Kanhai eventually fell in love with basketball and the rest as they say is history.

During his youth, the 6’4” guard was brought to prominence thanks to the Victory Valley Royals Secondary School’s basketball championship where he led his school, Mackenzie High, to several titles and won several individual accolades in the process.

Thanks to Youth Basketball Guyana and their hosting of the National School’s Basketball Festival (NSBF) Kanhai was able to match his skills with his peers from across the country where he exhibited that he’s in a league of his own. He was part of the team that won the Inter Guiana Games (IGG) title and had also captained the team in Suriname where they finished second to the hosts.

His growth among the more senior players and overall work ethics has placed him to be if not one of, the most, popular local player presently.

But after having a stand out junior career, and is one of most talked about local players, one would wonder “what’s next” for the player nicknamed ‘The Dream’.

“I still want to play at the highest level, you know, because nothing is happening here (in Guyana) right now. No one is playing or training. I like to work out but nothing is happening, we haven’t even catch a sweat yet since we came back (from Tortola), it’s like everything dead for now,” Kanhai said.

Kanhai just wrapped up his second stint with Guyana’s men’s basketball team competing at the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) where they finished fifth, and according to the Ravens talisman, it was way better than his first outing in the Bahamas in 2011.

“Everything about this tournament was better. We had a far better team and even though we had our hiccups with the Federation, we still did well. I think for me, playing with (Rawle) Marshall kind of lifted my game a bit and all around. Honestly, I want to play more often and at a high level all the time,” said Kanhai.

“My biggest challenge right now is staying motivated to play basketball. Like I said, nothing much is happening right now so I would go to the Sports Hall to help Lugard (Mohan) with the YBG camp and I will probably do the same with the IGG team. But that’s about it”.

One thing for sure is that Kanhai is always eager to play and to play against tough competition, adding, “One tournament a month not making sense right now so once the opportunity comes for me to play at the highest level, I will take it providing certain things.”

(By Rawle Toney)